The Lord Loves You The Way You Are
by JessicaDupont
Summary: Pastor Edward Stonebridge finds a guest in his church. Harry gets a little bit of new knowledge. And maybe a little bit of hope..


**The Lord Loves You The Way You Are**  
_To my friends in the Church's Youth Group, who helped me realize how much the Lord really loves us._

* * *

Pastor Edward Stonebridge looked from his shadowed corner when the thin form of a teenage boy slowly walked towards the altar.  
It was not the first time Edward saw the boy, as he had come to the church for the past three days, but always standing hidden in the shadows during the sermon.

But afterwards, when the rest of the churchgoers had left, the boy would quietly leave his hiding place and slowly move forwards towards the altar and curiously look up at the statue of Jesus Christ.  
There he would stand for a few minutes before leaving just as quietly as he had come.

Edward Stonebridge still didn't know the identity of the boy. Until this day.

The previous days had been rainy and dark and the church had been shadowy during these wet afternoons. But not this day.  
This day was sunny and bright, and most of the shadows were banished from the inside of the church.

The young boy walked yet again across the church towards the altar, but today (unlike the other days) Pastor Stonebridge could see who his guest was.  
He was surprised to see that it was young Harry Potter.

Young Harry had not put his foot inside the church since the child in question had been eleven years old from what Edward could remember.  
After that, the child had started on some kind of boarding school and was just seen at the summer holidays.  
That was four years ago, so young Harry should be around fifteen now, if Edward got it right.

Pulling himself from his musings, Edward took to observe Harry again.  
The child was yet again staring up at the statue of Jesus Christ, green eyes full of questions.  
Then, slowly, the boy sank down at the floor, still looking at the savior.

"Is it true what he said?" the boy suddenly whispered, his voice echoing inside the almost empty church. "Do you really love us, no matter what we have done?"  
It was then Edward left his hiding place and walked towards the child.  
His footsteps were loud inside the church and Harry looked up, startled.

Harry stood up quickly, "I'm sorry" he said softly, looking at the floor, "I will leave now."  
He turned towards the doors to leave but Edward held up a hand. "No child, stay."  
He walked to the first pew in the front of the church, and sat down.

"Sit with me child, and tell me your troubles" he said, patting the seat beside him.  
Harry hesitated for a moment before he walked over and sat down.  
Minutes ticked by and after awhile Edward understood that Harry wasn't going to say something.

"He does" Edward said then.  
Harry looked at him, surprised, "What?" he asked confused.  
Edward smiled, "The Lord really does love us, no matter what we have done." He explained to the boy.  
"He loves us, no matter who we are? _What_ we are?" Harry asked a little shocked and a little skeptical.

"No matter who we are. No matter what we are" Edward assured him.  
Harry looked down at his hands which lay in his lap.  
"Father, I can count the people who love me on one hand, and then count the people who know _me_ on the other. But I still wonder if there is _anyone_ who knows me as well as I do?" he said bitterly.

Edward stood up, took the hands of the boy and led him to the statue.  
"He does. The Lord knows you better than you know yourself" Edward said, "The Lord loves you the way you are".  
Harry looked at him over his shoulder, "He does?"

Edward nodded.

He walked over to a bookcase hidden in a corner, and took down a bible.  
He took out a pencil from a pocket in his priest robes and wrote something on the inside cover of the book.  
He then gave the book to Harry.

"Take this" Edward said "and look up the verse I wrote on the inside when you come home. Promise me that you won't look before you're home?"  
Harry nodded in agreement, took the bible.  
He then thanked the kind man and walked back to Privet Drive.

Edward smiled after the young man.

* * *

When Harry came home he hurried to look in the book.

_**Matthew 5:3-5:12**_ it said in a small neat handwriting, just below a name written there.  
_Harry Potter_ was written with the same handwriting.

Harry hurried to find the right verse and paragraph. When he did, he just stared at the text.

_**3**_**_ "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.  
__4_****_ "Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.  
__5_****_ "Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth."  
__6_****_ "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. "  
__7_****_ "Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy."  
__8_****_ "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God."  
__9_****_ "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God."  
__10_****_ "Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. "  
__11_****_ "Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me."  
__12__ "Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you."_**

Then, Harry smiled for the first time in almost two months.

**THE END  
**

**

* * *

**  
This is a peice that have been stuck inside me head all day!

Not really sure if the quote is right but I hope so.


End file.
